Uncovered 21 years ago: 2,500-year-old tattooed Russian princess to get home rest

ASYUT: A tattooed princess preserved in permafrost after2, 500 years is to be returned to her resting place over fears her upheaval led to a series of natural disasters The mummified remains of the Russian ice maiden were discovered 21 years ago in a high altitude plateau in the heart of south-western Siberia. But her removal led to concern among local elders who called for her to be put back in her final resting place to ‘stop her anger that caused floods and earthquakes’. Ancient beliefs dictate that her presence in the burial chamber had been to ‘bar the entrance to the kingdom of the dead’. Now the Siberian Times has reported plans have finally been put forward to reinter the body back into the ground in the Russia’s Altai Mountains and honour her with her own special mausoleum. Located on the pristine grasslands of the 2,500 metre high Ukok Plateau, the beautiful monument to Princess Ukok could be started next year. The tattooed mummy was excavated by Novosibirsk scientist Natalia Polosmak in 1993 and was heralded as ‘one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century’.